Pennsylvania is facing challenging economic times, a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, and negative cash flow projections. My Budget Deficit and Fiscal Stabilization Task Force will get to work to determine the scope of the challenges facing Pennsylvania and begin to discuss how we can get Pennsylvania's fiscal house in order.
I should care about the education a child in Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh, or Erie, or Scranton received because if they didn't get a good education my life is diminished and all of our lives are enhanced if they get that good education. It is a shared enterprise and we need to recognize that.
I don't like the fact that we're not creating jobs the way we used to create jobs in Pennsylvania. I lament the fact that we're not setting the table for really robust economic development, here in Pennsylvania, where we can do that. I lament the fact that our schools are being hollowed out. We need a fresh start. I think we need to go in a different direction. I think we need a new governor.
We [US] can't compete with low-wage countries in different parts of the world. We cannot compete with countries that play games with currencies or regulations. We can't. We shouldn't.
The extraction tax is based in part on production times the market value at the wellhead, so any downturn in the market price is going to be a mathematical impact on the shale tax. But beyond that, it also concerns me because it also impacts the health of the industry.
